Statewide County HI Archives News.....Wiki Mo'olelo - Part 17 - The Kumulipo- Hawaiian Mele of Antiquity. December 5, 2008
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Darlene E. Kelley donkeyskid@msn.com December 17, 2008, 6:03 pm

Keepers Of The Culture, A Study In Time Of The Hawaiian Islands December 5, 2008

Contributed for use in
USGenWeb Archives
by Darlene E. Kelley
December 5, 2008.
 
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Historical Collections of Hawai'I
Keepers of the Culture
A Study in Time, of the Hawai'ian Islands
Wiki Mo'olelo - Part 17 - The Kumulipo- Hawaiian Mele of Antiquity.
by Darlene E. Kelley
 
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Wiki Mo'olelo
 
Part 17
 
The Kumulipo - Hawai'ian Mele of Antiquity.
 
 
" At the time that turned the heat of earth,
At the time when the heavens turned and changed,
At the time when the light of the sun was subdued
To  cause night to break forth.
At the time of the night of Makali'I ( winter )
Then began the slime which established the earth,
The source of deepest darkness.
Of the depth of darkness, of the depth of darkness,
Of the depth of darkness of the sun, in the depth of night,
It is night,
So night was born. "
 
 
The Kumulipo ( the source of life ) is an ancient Hawai'ian mele oli, or chant,
consisting of 2,077 lines 
traditionally chanted by one person over six hours. The chant reflects
sophisticated theories about the
origins of the cosmos and life on this planet-- providing a concept of world
order, reminding everyone about the 
core relationship people have with earth and how to live harmoniously.
 
The Kumulipo illustrates the deep and enduring differences between western and
traditional Hawai'ian ways of 
relating to and respecting the environment.
 
Hawai'ians, like many indigenous people approach the environment from a totally
different posture. Instead of beginning with a relationship of domination over
the environment, indigenous peoples have approached the environment from a
position of reverence, of equality, of respect and even worship.
 
The genealogy is said to have been composed about 1700. Most Hawai'ian families
still trace their linage to the chant and the information is passed down through
the generations. The first part is a literal story of development of natural
forms on the earth. The later half of the chant gives the genealogical history
of the 
Hawai'ian line of chiefs.
 
The most important ancestor for all Hawai'ians is the land itself. Legend names
the first Hawai'ian as the 
Kalo ( taro ) plant. Therefore, as the Hawai'ian progenitor, it is every
Hawai'ian's obligation to care for the
land.
 
In 1897, the dethroned Queen Lili'uokalani translated the Kumulipo, from a
Hawai'ian text published by her
brother King Kalakaua in 1869. It was probabably used by Kalakaua to provide a
more substantial and dignified
presence to provide establishment to himself as a descendant of the ancient
chiefs of Hawai'I for his election.
 
Queen Lili'uokalani, published the manuscripts both for her personal
satisfaction and to refute a popular 
argument that Hawai'ians were ignorant savages who had no culture prior to the
arrival of Capt. Cook.
 
The complexity of the chants of ancient Hawai'I reveals a race of quick-witted
people, poetic and finely attuned
to nature in their imagery, and themes and Kaona ( hidden or double meanings.).
The Kumulipo, is only one of the many kinds of lyrical chants composed by the
ancients. It is considered to be exact on geneological linage.
 
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Next - part 18. 
        


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